elysium | tom riddle

14 | act i, scene xiv

W A R N I N G

Mentions of gore, Death, and religious themes.

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𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖋𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖓

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄 tainted her hands with blood had been with the one of a priest. The funny thing about sanguine was that it was supposed to pump the blood from the veins, not dribble away from a corpse. But blood was the payment for Death. It was the currency of a killer.

It had been long ago, but she was still able to remember. She had barely turned twelve years old that awful winter, and although she was accustomed to Honduras's humid air, a shiver had crawled up her spine. She had hugged herself further and looked at her side, where her mentor stood, with a cocked eyebrow.

He had taken his hood off due to the heat and clasped his hands while looking at the girl. They had found her first victim, and what better way to do it than in her home, in the place she had grown up in so that she would leave everything behind and become what she needed to be?

They had chosen a priest for a reason. Not many people knew the power they held, and they didn't know about the little girls they encountered and how their bones would be found in the deepest part of every cathedral a few years later. It was rather funny how the men who preached God's word were the ones who had so much filth in their souls, so deep into the thrall of eternal sin.

She took in the towers flanking the church entrance, and her teacher took her hand where mass would begin. She would have thanked him were it not for the fact that if she even tried to say his name or think about it, she would be burned inside out with Hellfire. The last thing that would remain of her would be a charcoal-like smell that would cling to people's nostrils for days.

They had walked into the church made of rocks and pillars. Light chatter of the few families that visited the church on Sunday night echoed from every wall. Both Tao and Ariadne had entered through the pointed arch of San Felipe de Jesus Catholic Church. Ariadne had seen the large stained-glass windows that depicted many scenes from the Bible. The interior had been filled with ornate decorations with carved wall paintings.

They had sat and watched the old priest greet some of the few families. She blinked as she saw the candles surrounding him cast shadows around his face making him look anything but holy. He had dark charcoal eyes, his hair gray with age, almost as though color clung to the roots with force, although he was already balding in some places. Ariadne shivered again until she felt a pinch on her arm.

She converted to look at Tao, her father's Right Hand, and he leaned in, whispering in her ear, "Don't show that you're afraid."

The girl had swallowed and turned again to look at the priest on the altar as he stood over a wooden pulpit. A slight scent of smoke emitted from the candles, but she found the smell soothing as she leaned back on the pew.